Pledging Allegiance: Thoughts about Citizenship

The Franco-American Flophouse has moved to a new site.  You can find all these posts and new ones under the Category "Citizenship" at:

https://francoamericanflophouse.wordpress.com/

The Magna Carta and the Right to Leave (January 24, 2016)  States are jealous guardians of their sovereignty when it comes to deciding the conditions, rules, and procedures surrounding a citizen who wishes to change his or state allegiance.

Are There Limits to the Right to Change Ones Nationality? (September 24, 2015) Yes

Immigrants versus Expatriates (March 16, 2015)  One of the most asinine acts of those who go abroad from developed countries is this attempt to dodge terms. People who come from less exalted nations are immigrants; we are expatriates. 

Consenting Citizens (June 6, 2014)  Some thoughts about Peter H. Schuck and Rogers Smith's book.

Citizenship and Consent (January 15, 2014) A very interesting case that goes to the heart of  some difficult questions about citizenship:  how it is conferred, the rights and responsibilities that go along with it, and the explicit versus implicit consent of the governed. 

Ted Cruz:  Birthright Citizenship is Not Voluntary (August 20, 2013) How the conferral of citizenship is not necessarily a choice.

Expats, Exbrats, and Guests (July 12, 2013) My visceral reactions to some articles that used these terms.

France and Jus soli (May 21, 2013)  Both France and the U.S. confer citizenship using jus sanguinas and jus soli.  What's interesting is that each country has different ways of using them to make new citizens. 

Extradition and Dual Citizenship (January 17, 2013) What happens when one country demands the extradition of a citizen of both countries?

The Path to French Citizenship:  Policy Change? (July 28, 2012)  The 2012 French elections are behind us and with a new administration in office there are new actors and new policies. Manuel Valls, the new Minister of the Interior says that he will not implement the naturalization policies of his predecessor.

Meet Accidental American Boris Johnson, Mayor of London (June 28, 2012) A post about "Accidental Americans" - those people who, through no fault or action of their own, are considered to by U.S. citizens by the U.S government.  Some very high-profile Europeans fall into this category:  Boris Johnson, Anne Sinclair... (And a correction:  Johnson is the Mayor of London, not the Lord Mayor)

Two Tales of U.S. Citizenship (June 9, 2012) Two citizenship stories that I've been following separately that I think are worth placing side by side and comparing. Both concern U.S. citizenship, but one is about people who do not want to be claimed as U.S. citizens, while the other is a fight for recognition as U.S. citizens.

The End of Plural Nationality?  (April 11, 2012) Some thoughts about citizenship, plural nationality and globalization.

Citizenship 101 for Americans (March 16, 2012) An attempt to clear up some misconceptions about how U.S. citizenship really works in the real world.

U.S. Citizenship:  Discrimination and Accidental Americans (March 19, 2012)  Clarification of some points brought up by Flophouse readers in response to the Citizenship 101 post.

Testing the Loyalty of Dual Citizens (January 9, 2012) A post about recent efforts by the Dutch government to limit dual citizenship with interesting consequences for immigrants and citizens alike.

The Narcissism of Difference (November 25, 2011) Some background on how I came to France and how my thinking about my identity changed over the years and why I decided finally to apply for French citizenship.

Citizenship and Military Service (December 13, 2011) One of the many paths to citizenship is, of course, serving in the military.  How something that was once the duty of a citizen became optional for birthright citizens but is still a path to citizenship for immigrants.

Dual Citizenship:  Germany and Japan (November 27, 2011) Two states that have traditionally followed strict jus sanguinis citizenship laws have had to rethink their approach.  Germany changed.  Is Japan next?

Involuntary Citizenship - Here's How Strange It Can Get (October 7, 2011) Very generous U.S. jus soli law has some interesting implications as it intersects with other nation's citizenship laws.  "Birth Tourism" isn't really the problem.  The real issue is the "Accidental American" who is quite startled to discover that he or she is considered a U.S. citizen and may actually be held to duties and responsibilities toward the United States of America against his or her wishes.

The U.S. Debate Over the Fourteenth Amendment (June 8, 2011) An explanation of U.S. jus soli citizenship law and some of the arguments for and against.

The Debate about Dual Nationality in France (June 7, 2011) An attack by the Far Right here in France on dual citizenship and responses to it by Hughes Serraf and Patrick Weil.

The Path to Citizenship Part I (June 3, 2011) There are many paths to becoming a citizen - many more ways than most people think and not all of them are up to the individual. Part I in this series is about involuntary citizenship which means that an individual simply is a citizen by virtue of some quality that he has little or no control over.  Some very surprising twists to this.

The Path to Citizenship Part II (June 4, 2011)  A look at naturalization - the voluntary path to becoming a citizen.

The Path to Citizenship Part III (June 5, 2011) A discussion of the different factors people must consider before asking for citizenship in their country of residence and why sometimes people have good reasons not to become a citizen.

Plural Nationality Part I (May 31, 2011) How four different countries - Germany, Japan, U.S. and France - regard dual or plural citizenship.

Plural Nationality Part II (June 1, 2011) Some of the reasons plural nationality is becoming more and more common.

Plural Nationality Part III (June 2, 2011)   Some plausible reasons why states are not more aggressive about applying strict and limited citizenship rules and why they don't make agreements with other states to enforce them in a consistent way in order to avoid the "evils of plural nationality."

Citizenship by Jus Sanguinis (April 12, 2011)  Transmission of citizenship by blood seems pretty obvious.  Alas, it isn't and has been interpreted and limited in some very interesting ways in both France and the U.S.

Always a Resident.  Never a Citizen (December 28, 2010)  An explanation of why I was content to be a legal resident of France but was not considering becoming a citizen.  Read my post one year later to see why I changed my mind.